According to a new study published in the journal Addictive Behaviors, daily and former daily smokers experience higher levels of bodily pain than never daily smokers.
Researchers compared the self-reported levels of bodily pain among daily, never daily and former daily smokers stratified by age and adjusted for covariates. Data on bodily pain, smoking status, sociodemographic, health, behavioural and psychological characteristics were obtained from 223,537 individuals through online surveys hosted in the British Broadcasting Corporation Lab UK Study.
Among individuals aged 16-34 years, higher levels of bodily pain were reported in former daily smokers (P<.001) and daily smokers (P<.01) compared with never daily smokers after adjusting for covariates. A small but significant increase in bodily pain was reported in former daily smokers aged 35-64 years (P<.001) and those aged ≥65 years (P<.05). There was no significant difference between daily and never daily smokers among those aged 35-64 years and ≥65 years.
The authors recommend that "providers of smoking cessation support in the UK (e.g. the National Centre for Smoking Cessation Training) and elsewhere should consider incorporating materials on coping with pain, particularly targeting younger smokers."
